Dealing with embarrassing events: socially anxious and non-socially anxious groups compared

This study examined potential differences between a clinically socially anxious group and a non-socially anxious control group in dealing with embarrassing events. Six scenarios of embarrassing events each paired with a method of coping with that event were presented to the two groups of subjects. Both groups evaluated their confidence in their ability to deal with each situation, described how they might actually deal with them (prior to reading the given method) and rated how well others might deal with each episode. There was little difference between the two groups in self-reported techniques for dealing with each episode, but clinically socially anxious patients, when compared to non-socially anxious controls, underestimated parameters of their own performance and overestimated the ability of others to deal with embarrassment. The implications of these results for clinical intervention are discussed.